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In today’s world we have technology, convenience, security, and a measure of prosperity, but where is the beauty? For thousands of years, artists, sages, philosophers, and theologians have connected the beautiful and the sacred and identified art with our longing for God. Now we live in a day when convenience and practicality have largely displaced beauty as a value. The church is no exception. Even salvation is commonly viewed in a scientific and mechanistic manner and presented as a plan, system, or formula.

In Beauty Will Save the World, Brian Zahnd presents the argument that this loss of beauty as a principal value has been disastrous for Western culture, and especially for the church. The full message of the beauty of the gospel has been replaced by our desires to satisfy our material needs, to empirically prove our faith, and to establish political power in our world--the exact same things that Christ was tempted with and rejected in the wilderness.

Zahnd shows that by following the teachings of the Beatitudes, the church can become a viable alternative to current-day political, commercial, and religious power and can actually achieve what these powers promise to provide but fail to deliver. Using stories from the lives of St. Francis of Assisi and from his own life, he teaches us to stay on the journey to discover the kingdom of God in a fuller, richer, more beautiful, way.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

I read Beauty Will Save the World and was impressed on so many levels. I am a Christian but I had considered walking away from the Church, and for a brief spell actually did. I had got to the point where it seemed like Christianity had nothing stimulating to say. There is nothing wrong with getting right with God and accepting Jesus as my savior but I just knew there had to be more to following Christ than that.

Brian Zahnd helped me re-discover the true center of Christianity. Jesus was not only crucified but Jesus forgave those who crucified him. Jesus calls us to love the world as He loves the world, to make love and forgiveness the new center of human society. My personal salvation is indeed only half the story because Jesus brings salvation to human society as well. There is a way of life that is beautifull and Jesus shows us the way. This is a message needed in the modern world. There is a whole new context for being Christian and living Christ-like. Key to this is understanding the beauty of Christ on the Cross, living the sermon on the mount, and how that beauty changes how we see and live in this world.

The message is not brought to the reader by treatises, statements of doctrine, or argumentation. The book uses stories, usually real life stories, and insightful metaphors. Brian Zahnd is not trying to convince the reader to change their mind but helping the reader see life through a new lens.

On a more personal note for the last several years it seemed like all the intellectually stimulating and interesting books on theology and ethics were written by writers such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. These atheists never convinced me to abandon my belief in God but were thought stimulating and effective at pointing out where many Christians had gone wrong.Read more ›

I have the greatest respect for Pastor Zahnd's ability to inspire through helping ourbelief that the deepest, purest longings of our heart can be realized.His books are historical, Scriptural, and written with great clarity.Ultimately they help us to draw nearer to God through a broader perspectiveand greater understanding of basic doctrine in an contemporary way.Zahnd appeals to our reason, while sharing glimpses of the depths and heights offaith, hope,and love as a beautiful mystery embraced universally by humanity.He writes in a highly educated, life lived to the fullest, fashion.Embracing the concepts of Christian courage and faith in Zahnd's first book,the forgiveness of unconditional love in his second, and beauty in his thirdwould not only change the world, it would go a long way to making it what it was created to be.You will not easily forget what he has written.

Brian Zahnd has given us another thought provoking book on the nature of the Christian faith. He peels back some of the crusty shell which has developed over the centuries and allows us the opportunity to peer in with a sense of wonder and awe. He reveals a forgotten beauty which finds its source in both the teachings and life of Christ. This beauty stands in stark contrast to the mindset and actions of our world and sadly much of the Church. Zahnd calls us back to the beauty of the cruciform through his great use of story both current and historical. This isn't a warm, fuzzy, make you feel good book, but one that is deeply challenging and calls us into a more intimate and real walk with God. If you are serious about following Christ then this is a book you don't want to miss. It is a breath of fresh air which kindles hope and new imagination.

Brian Zahnd does an excellent job at extrapolating the many beautiful qualities of the life and message of Christ and examining them in light of how they relate to believers and our interaction with the world in which we live. My favorite chapter was the last one, "A Shelter from the Storm" in which he carefully examines the Beatitudes of Jesus. This chapter, along with the entire book will challenge your faith, especially for those Christians who are caught up in the systems of this world. Zahnd does a great job contrasting the kingdom of God with the kingdoms of this world and shows the huge difference between them. A person can ultimately choose to live contently in the kingdoms of this world and all that it has to offer, or live in the beautiful kingdom of God, void of violence, greed, ugliness, and power. So, what is the beauty that saves the world. The beauty that saves the world is the cross.

Some of my favorite quotes from this book are:

Instead of angry protesters shaking our fists at a secular culture, we should be joyful singers transforming the secular with the sacred.

Christianity as the ongoing expression of the Jesus story lived out in the lives of individuals and in the heart of society is a beauty that can redeem the world.

The cross is the beauty of Christianity because it is at the cross that we encounter cosuffering love and costly forgiveness in its most beautiful form.

When we lose sight of the subtle beauty of the cruciform we become seduced by the power, prestige, and pragmatism of politics.

Christ persuades, not by the force of Caesar, but by the beauty of love.

True morality consists in how well we care for one another, not what sort of behaviour we wish to impose on one another.Read more ›